President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is nominating Jay Clayton to serve as the next permanent director of national intelligence.
Clayton currently works as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and previously served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. If confirmed by the Senate, he will be tasked with overseeing the sprawling U.S. intelligence community, which includes major organizations like the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
The sudden announcement comes on the heels of intense political controversy surrounding Trump’s temporary pick for the top intelligence role. On Wednesday, Trump said federal housing official Bill Pulte would take over as acting director on June 19 to replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard.
Pulte’s appointment immediately stalled legislative action in Congress. Just hours before Trump nominated Clayton for the permanent job, the House of Representatives rejected a proposal to extend a crucial national security tool past Friday. Lawmakers refused to back the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act directly because of Trump’s choice to install Pulte in the acting role.
Taking to Truth Social to announce the permanent nomination, Trump described Clayton as “very highly respected” and urged lawmakers to move quickly on the approval process.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump wrote. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
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